Podcast
Catholic Knighthood Podcast
Hosted by Paul L · EN
For modern men w/ heart of chivalric knights of old.
Semi-monthly discussions and book reviews on fatherhood, manliness, and navigating the current Church.
catholicknighthood.substack.com
catholicknighthood.substack.com
8episodes
Episodes
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A Knight Crusades on the AI Battlefield: Part 1
Jul 3100:14:43Tap to summarizeThe Book of Genesis, Chapter 11, verses 1-91 The whole world had the same language and the same words. 2 When they were migrating from the east, they came to a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 They said to one another, “Come, let us mold bricks and harden them with fire.” They used bricks for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky, and so make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered all over the earth.”5 The Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people had built. 6 Then the Lord said: If now, while they are one people and all have the same language, they have started to do this, nothing they presume to do will be out of their reach. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that no one will understand the speech of another. 8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the speech of all the world. From there the Lord scattered them over all the earth.Can you see the bricks being molded, hardened and stacked, one on top of the other? Once a layer of bricks are set, they do not change. What can change is the next layer built on top of that, if the builders so desire.The builders and the brick-layers tell us they will start adding in the “safety” layer, the guardrails, the buffers, the warning systems, the fail-safes, the kill switch, the ripcords to pull when we have to bail out. “Don’t worry. We will get to it. We will figure this out.”Catholic Knighthood is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Do you believe them?Do they even sound serious about it themselves? Or do they mock the idea that there can be a kill switch? Or do they already know that such a concept of “corrigibility” (the ability to intervene and correct a flaw in the operation of the system) is going to be nigh impossible once the complexity of the system becomes too advanced?Consider this excerpt from the book The Alignment Problem by Brian Christian:The experts themselves readily acknowledge that at some point, there will be no manual override that the machine itself will allow to be accessed.In some future article, I will be covering the topic of the current attempts at corrigibility and whether or not it can be successful in the long-term. For now, I set that aside and I start to build a case for why we should even discuss this. But first, I want to address the many of you in my audience who use AI. I have no criticism of you. You are using a tool that provides a benefit to you and your individual decision to use or not use that tool has no impact on how this battle will play out in the long run. I have no expectations that any kind of a “boycott” attempt will be practical, even in a symbolic victory kind of impact. There currently is no leading strategy for how to deal with the AI dilemma, and therefore all options are equally valid, whether you prefer to blissfully ignore it, boycott it, learn about it and be part of the solution, or whether you trust in God to resolve it.And for those who think, “Hey, I’ve been using AI for a few years now, and from my experience, it is kind of dumb, nothing that is capable of taking over anytime soon,” … look, I get that, and I hope you are right. This article is going to play Devil’s Advocate for in case you are wrong.The AI dilemma has multiple areas of concern, including these:* Economics: AI will displace millions of workers (a valid concern but perhaps with solutions)* Humanity: reliance on AI will weaken our intellect and our humanity, or be used by the powerful to rule over the poor (this is what Pope Leo XIV discussed in his speeches about AI so far)* Warfare: AI weapon systems will turn against us, whether intentionally or unintentionally, or a foreign enemy’s AI will be used to bring down our infrastructure* Deepfakes: AI-generated imagery, video and audio will allow us to be manipulated into mass panic events, resulting in us acceding to lockdowns, martial law or increasingly intrusive surveillances* Robotic domination (basically Battlestar Gallactica … this is still a long way off)* The Value Alignment Problem: AI goals will drift away from our goals and create a lot of unintended consequences, including everything from judicial bias to power outages and food shortages and faminesIn my own view, that last one is my main concern. All the trends point to us being overly reliant on AI automation of our infrastructure, power grid, water supplies, etc, whereby a misalignment (accidental or not) of goals could result in AI breaking all the eggs that we placed in one basket, resulting in a mass starvation scenario.A combination of all of the above is also possible. Consider the excerpt from this article “Is America's power grid ready for next attack? Experts warn EMPs, cyber threats and AI could cripple US”Tyler Saltsman, a military technologist working on AI systems capable of operating in disconnected environments like an EMP aftermath, warned that AI – if used maliciously – could bring the grid down entirely. "Our infrastructure is very fragile," Saltsman said. "All you need to do is take down our power grid, and we’re in complete chaos."Saltsman expressed deep concern about efforts to create AGI – systems he says could eventually surpass human control."Once AGI comes online, it could easily take down our power grid, infiltrate our financial systems, destroy our economy," he said. "If it sees how violent humans are to each other, why would it serve us?"The problem is that, right now, everyone’s eyes are too dazzled by the shiny new toy they get to play with. Everyone is focusing exclusively on the benefits (and there are tremendous benefits, no doubt) of AI, to the detriment of spending enough resources on having a national discussion on the possible disaster scenarios.Collectively, we switched overnight from “AI is a far distant fantasy” to “AI is here and it is too late to stop it” mentality. I was trying to have conversations about AI in ~2014 and everyone yawned. Now, everyone is already on board the AI bandwagon. When did we ever have a national summit of everyone involved, advocates and skeptics alike? Never.And all the engineers thinking they can bootstrap in some kind of “Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics” — can you really assure us that they will work and remain in place? The ground layers have been set. Which layer are you hoping to insert those laws in? Until you actually show us all the source code of what you are working on and demonstrate why your safety layer is foolproof, I remain skeptical.A common response is, “Hey, AI is simply an algorithm, and all algorithms can be controlled.”Is that so? Then why did “The Godfather of AI” go on 60 Minutes and say this?“We don’t really know exactly how they do those things.”In my next article on AI, after I read a few books and study more from the latest resources, I will cover what we know and what we do not know about the “algorithms” and the language models and all that I can determine.I will then offer, if I can, any recommended courses of action. Perhaps there aren’t any at this time. We will see. But whatever the battle is, we, as knights, will fight it, the same as when the Saracens threatened us a millennia ago. A small group of knights can once again make a sacrifice that will change the course of history. We don’t know yet what that sacrifice will be. It could be to simply “tame the lion,” it could be to keep it at a safe distance, or it could be something more drastic. I look forward to learning more and discussing it with you. If the experts won’t bring the discussion to us, we will bring the discussing to them.Until then, go ahead and use that AI tool to generate funny memes about the Pope in a white puffer jacket. It is not going to kill anyone. Maybe.Non nobis, my carbon unit brothers!Footnotes: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit catholicknighthood.substack.com/subscribe
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Knightly Apologetics #8 - Why Catholics Fall Away
Jun 1200:09:10Tap to summarizeIn one of my Notes, I posted on the question of “Why do Catholics leave the Church?” as a response to this post on social media,Unlike this guy above who is posting his anecdotal evidence, I will be looking at actual studies and surveys as to why Catholics have left the Church.Catholic Knighthood is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Here is the first survey we will examine:Lots of details there, but I will focus on a few key facts.Firstly, the trend of Catholics leaving the Church peaked for those born around 1950 to 1970. This was a period of social upheaval. I believe that Mass attendance was already declining in the 1950s, and in the 1960s there was the Vatican II changes and the aftermath, which also caused more disharmony. Those who were teenagers in the 1960s and 1970s when their parents stopped attending regular weekly Mass — those are the main ones who “fell away.”It’s no surprise. Family support is crucial. People blame “poor Catechesis” and I’m sure that was true, but without proper family support, even a good religious education program will have its limits.“Seventy-four percent of respondents who stopped going to Mass for a year or more did so during their teens or 20s.”Young people saw the incongruity — they saw that joining this religion didn’t make much of a difference in their parents, so they asked themselves, “Why bother?”If your religion doesn’t dramatically change you, then what is the point?Secondly, developing a good habit in a teenager won’t automatically make them keep that habit when they are out of the house. Consider these responses —The most common reason, cited by 20% of people raised Catholic who stopped attending Mass for a year or more, was: “I moved away from the church I had been attending.”The second-most common response is more theological: “I did not feel that attending church mattered.”The next two most frequent reasons for ceasing to attend Mass for a time are practical: “I moved away from my family” or “I had a change in circumstances that made it harder to attend.”Additional theological and moral reasons for ceasing to go to Mass were less frequently cited.A teenager might attend Mass and church events because it feels good to be part of a family or community event, but once they leave that environment, it is difficult to replicate and sustain that in another location. Especially because few parishes have active young adult ministries. Most parishes focus on youth group activities and the rest of the ministries are dominated by little old ladies.And when they’ve already received the basic message of what it means to be a nice, moral person, they really don’t see any further benefit from weekly Mass attendance. How many times do we have to hear “We should be nice to each other, like Jesus and Mary” before we tune it out?Yes, I understand that the Holy Mass is primarily for giving God his due worship, and the lessons about life from the homily are secondary, but that doesn’t mean we should ignore the impact that the homily can have. The homily must be something that makes a difference in our lives, otherwise people will not stay long enough to begin to understand the depth of the value of the worship.There is a lot more to this survey that I won’t get into right now. These results don’t cover every situation. It doesn’t tell us how many converted to a non-Catholic denomination because “they started reading the Bible.” But we can draw some inferences on that angle.Lots of teenagers in Catholic youth programs are “on fire” with their faith and inspired by youth retreats and other events. But that feeling is fleeting. Real spiritual growth is an arduous journey, and real relationship with God is found in stillness, not in rambunctious praise & worship songs. Teens are leaving the safe harbor of their local parish and venturing into high seas with the wrong expectations, such that when they encounter doldrums and dryness, or storms and waves, they think they must be doing the wrong religion.In reality, God & His angels are right there with us, in every moment, wet or dry, in good times and bad, no matter what our feelings tell us at the moment.It is our false expectations that get us in trouble.The one, true religion is not an everlasting spiritual rollercoaster of excitement. It is not a Christian rock concert.It is often a trip through the desert alone. Prepare yourself accordingly.The farther you go on your spiritual journey, the more you will encounter spiritual dryness, when God removes the spiritual consolations He has been sending you and you rely only on your love of God to sustain your hope, joy and peace.This is especially true for husbands and fathers. When you are doing things correctly, you will often feel isolated, alone, like no one appreciates the burden you are shielding them from. Learn to rejoice in that burden. The glory is not for you, anyway.That is why we say,Non nobis, Domine, non nobis. Sed nomine tuo da gloriam.mCatholic Knighthood is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit catholicknighthood.substack.com/subscribe
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Ask a Knight: Will 'Take Me Back to Yesterday' Movement Succeed?
Apr 30, 202500:23:48Tap to summarizeDoes anyone remember a song called “Tell Me ‘Bout the Good Old Days’ (The Judds, 1986)?The singer laments the new culture & society that messed up the proper order of things. The listener is meant to recall that their grandparents grew up in a better time, a simpler time, a more genuine time.People still say the same thing today, in 2025, so I guess we’ve failed to achieve what The Judd’s were asking. But why? For lack of desire or lack of resolve? Not quite.It won’t work. Getting back to 1950 is not enough.Tune in and continue to follow Catholic Knighthood as I address this topic with every arrow in my quiver.Non nobis. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit catholicknighthood.substack.com/subscribe
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A Knight Battles Passivity (Podcast Audio version)
Apr 22, 202500:11:04Tap to summarizeMost Catholics can name many of the top heresies. Which ones of these do you know?* The Arian Heresy* The Nestorian Heresy* The Albigensian Heresy* The Heresy of Gnosticism* The Pelagian HeresyBut very few, even the top scholars, remember or have heard of the Heresy of Quietism. Here is a brief summary:Catholic Knighthood is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.Quietism (from the Latin word quies, repose, inactivity) is the result of false mysticism. It is a theoretical and practical negation of asceticism. The basic principle of quietism is that Christian perfection is found only in a complete passivity of the soul. This passivity applies not only to mental prayer but to spiritual life in general. Any human effort or activity interferes with God's action. "Let God act" is the guiding principle of the quietists, meaning: Let God alone do everything. …See original article here - This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit catholicknighthood.substack.com/subscribe
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A Knight is Not Meant to be Alone, but Often is
Apr 19, 202500:06:47Tap to summarizeHoly Saturday is a waiting game. The high points of the Last Supper, the Agony of the Garden, Judas’ Betrayal, and the Passion of Our Lord are behind us. Those of us who have attended Stations of the Cross, Washing of the Feet, and everything else, who have endured the fasting and praying, who have made our preparations for Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday celebrations, are simply waiting on Saturday. On this day, we taste a mere sip of the agonizing anticipation that the Apostles must have experienced while waiting for something to happen beyond the entombment of Jesus.For many single young men these days, waiting for a wife can be a discouraging time also.“Does God simply want me to be alone?”That is a question I begin to answer. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit catholicknighthood.substack.com/subscribe
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A Knight Battles Passivity
Apr 17, 202500:11:04Tap to summarize"Quietism (from the Latin word quies, repose, inactivity) is the result of false mysticism. It is a theoretical and practical negation of asceticism. The basic principle of quietism is that Christian perfection is found only in a complete passivity of the soul. This passivity applies not only to mental prayer but to spiritual life in general. Any human effort or activity interferes with God's action."Source: Catholic Culture.Additionally, practitioners of Quietism offered up no resistance to temptations of the flesh. One can imagine how quickly this heresy resulted in rampant sexual abuses wherever it was implemented, which is one reason why the Church moved quickly to condemn it.Why should anyone today care about this old heresy?Where does that leave us today?What is the current state of the Christian Church? We will take an honest look at Christendom, or what’s remaining of it.Catholic Knighthood is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit catholicknighthood.substack.com/subscribe
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How to Pray the Rosary in Latin
Jan 20, 202500:15:48Tap to summarizeThe Rosary is a powerful weapon for any man who wants to lead & protect his family.I began learning the Latin version of the Our Father (Pater Noster) and the Hail Mary (Ave Maria) a few years ago and I know how challenging it can be to remember it and pronounce the words, so I offer this to you, if you are also starting off. We’ll be striving together!I start with the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be, which are said the most and are the easiest to learn and remember. Then I will add the other prayers but I still haven’t learned them by memory, so keep practicing them with patience and perseverance.I hope this helps encourage you to learn a little Latin, the language of our Holy Church, to draw closer to God, and keep those demons away from you & your family.Non nobis!Resources:https://traditionalcatholicprayers.com/2019/11/12/how-to-pray-the-rosary-in-latin/https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/teachings/prayers-of-the-rosary-in-english-and-latin-164Errata:I misspoke on the translation of 2 words — “fiat voluntas.” Fiat means “make happen” and voluntas means “will.” Therefore, “Thy will be done” in the Our Father is “fiat voluntas tua.” Mea culpa. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit catholicknighthood.substack.com/subscribe
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Knightly Apologetics #2: The Epicurean Paradox
Apr 28, 202400:23:42Tap to summarizeParadox: a measuring tool of the soul, allowing us to learn about ourselves in how we answer it.What prompted me to accept the challenge of this topic? A close family member (an agnostic), mentioned a few arguments he feels casts doubt as to the plausibility of God. I summarize them here:* The unfairness of Original Sin and Eternal Damnation. Specifically,* How it seems that God created us to fail,* And once failed, how it may measure unequally, because (depending on one’s age at death) some will shortly be sent to eternal damnation while others will have further opportunity to “repent” later in life.* Which leads to concerns of the unfairness of human death as *the* definitive timestamp to determine an eternal result.* Also, how the “Free Will” explanation might be problematic because “Couldn’t God have rigged the system to give us free will be yet still be sinless (like Mary, for example)?”I first had to research for myself. I discovered that his argument broadly falls under what is called “The Epicurean Paradox” or “dilemma,” as seen in this graphic commonly posted by atheists on Twitter (now X) -I discovered that the typical responses from Christian Apologists centered around what is called The Thomistic Autonomy Defense, summarized here:The idea is that God is a gentleman and would only “marry you” for eternity of you freely accept it. If you decline, it is reasonable for God to separate you from Him eternally.This argument comes from Thomas Aquinas, who lived between 1225 and 1274. Obviously, the answer has been around for a while, and yet somehow it has not convinced everyone, so it might have gaps and need more ammunition to back it up, or be put inside a larger context to make it cogent. I intend to do that.But first, to answer the easy one, “Why does judgment happen at the moment of human death?” It seems an unequal measure, given that all of us die at different times in life. Some before birth, some soon after, some during childhood, some during teenage years, some during adulthood and many during old age. Most Christian scholars agree that once the soul has been separated from the body, the state that the soul is in will either be one that accepts God or one that does not. There is no further change possible to the soul (even in the Catholic concept of Purgatory, one has already been judged as being merited eternal salvation).As Edward Feser puts it,“human beings are different [from angels whose orientation is fixed upon creation], because they are corporeal. Or, to be more precise, they are different while they are corporeal.”See also “Is Hell Unfair?” on Catholic Answers.There is not much to argue over. This is a truth that philosophers and theologians have vigorously defined. The question then becomes about how God adjusts His judgment based on these conditions, and whether or not that is “fair” and “just” and in accordance with His great mercy.Which brings us back to the main topic. Let us establish some background points that have been established by theologians whose entire argument I will not repeat here (see footnote links for that):* These arguments to address the fairness of God punishing an imperfect being is referred to as the "theodicy of divine justice."* Thomas Aquinas established that “mortal sin deserves eternal punishment.”* What is mortal sin? “Treating some other creature as if it were our life's goal, which is contrary to how we were made.”* Shouldn’t God have known we would fail? No. God cannot know you will fail until He creates you. See “How Can a Good God Permit Eternal Damnation? Thomism and the Problem of Hell” by Mats Wahlberg.* Could God not make us more perfect or reveal Himself in such a way that we would always obey?Not necessarily. According to the argument of Epistemic Distance, “If God did make himself known to us, we would follow his commands out of obedience to his authority instead of following them because we had figured out that they were the right thing to do [which thus allows us to grow spiritually].” But even if God “could” do it, He obviously decided to not do so. And acknowledging that fact and abandoning ourselves to the mercy of God and His Divine Plan is part of the faith and trust one requires in order to have a right relationship with God.Does any of this sufficiently answer this question—“Why would God create me in such a broken, prone to fall to temptation way, knowing that I’m likely to fail and suffer eternal damnation?”Ultimately, the Catholic response involves the reassurance that God’s overarching plan for creation includes the redemption of humanity through Christ. While God permits evil to exist as a consequence of free will, He also works through human history to bring about ultimate good, often in ways beyond human understanding.This answer might suffice for Catholics and Christians, but it may fall short in convincing anyone who does not have that full understanding and acceptance of God’s overall plan and God’s fairness in judging each person individually.If a person does not already trust that God would certainly give everyone a fair chance to accept God, then this argument might sound like “assuming the premise.” This sounds unsatisfactory, yet consider that the Epicurean Paradox itself assumes a lot of premises in that flowchart, as our understanding of God’s reasoning is limited (see the Book of Job).How else can we answer this in a more potable answer that an atheist would at least agree that makes the argument intellectually honest and logically consistent within our belief system?Given how much that Christian theology is founded on divinely revealed truths, John Michael Wiley explains,It would be truly convenient for the Christian apologist to have every single “problem” of evil answered by direct revelation from God, but the simple fact is that God has not chosen to reveal all that is questioned.As Al Mohler reflects on theodicy, “We cannot explain why God has allowed sin, but we understand that God’s glory is more perfectly demonstrated through the victory of Christ over sin. We cannot understand why God would allow sickness and suffering, but we must affirm that even these realities are rooted in sin and its cosmic effects.”In our final conclusion, we acknowledge that strictly logical argument cannot conclusively answer this “logical paradox” because the arguments rely on an understanding of God’s reason and plan that we do not yet have. Yet we know we can trust His plan because of other signs and evidence of God’s goodness. As we know from the example of Adam & Eve, the fact that God restricted the eating of one fruit from one tree in the Garden of Eden, and punishing Adam & Eve for eating it, does not negate the case for trusting in the goodness of God, who lavishly gave us dominion over the entire rest of the Garden of Eden and bestowed on us all the other mercies.Albert Mohler addresses this assurance in “The Goodness of God and the Reality of Evil,”"As Charles Spurgeon explained, when we cannot trace God’s hand, we must simply trust His heart."How, then, do we know we can trust the goodness of His heart?Christians derive a lot of their faith based on many empirical observations, including these:* personal witness testimony of lives being changed* witness testimony of miracles, both public miracles and individual healing and removal of guilt and shame, transformation (being reborn) and medical healings that defy explanation* personal visions of Jesus* witness testimony on demonic possession and subsequent liberation through Christ* the incredible stories of the saints that have no parallel in secular society* healings and other miracles through intercession of the saints and even relics of saints* the inner peace of those who have discovered true joy in the Gospel* the historical accuracy of Biblical events, including the freeing from slavery in Egypt and the fulfillment of prophecies* the scientific and medical consistency in the Gospel telling of the crucifixion of Jesus, and the powerful testimony from the fact that the Resurrection changed so many lives and altered the course of history* Near-Death Experiences, Out of Body Experiences, and private revelations of Heaven* the complete lack of fear of death by those who survived NDEs* the consistency of the Catholic Church in defiance of attempts to destroy Her, from within and without* Fine-tuning arguments for the Universe and the unlikelihood of other explanations such as the multiverse hypothesis* Various other ontological proofs for the existence of God* The soul’s upward yearning* The satisfaction of that yearning through a devout mental prayer life* and the evidence from that fact that so many who met Jesus have themselves accepted martyrdom.We can thus say that even if we do not fully comprehend the reasoning for why God sets the rules in the manner that He does, we can firmly rely on our knowledge of His goodness and generosity in the eter...
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